2016 was a year of many firsts, from the first time a non-politician became the President of the United States of America to a pyaara chai wala from Pakistan becoming an international sensation. A lot of things happened in 2016, and a lot of people can’t wait for the year to be done with (amen).
Here are some of the things that happened for the first time in 2016 (in no particular order):
1. The first transgender model of Pakistan made her debut
Kami came out as the first transgender to model on a public platform, shortly after a video of brutal treatment of a member of the transgender community started surfacing the internet. Needless to say, the result was extremely powerful images and a lot of love, support, and affection for the transgender community.
2. Pakistan passed its first anti-honor killing and anti-rape bill
The bill states mandatory punishment for perpetrators, and in spite of loopholes still persisting, the fact that a bill like this exists in Pakistan is a matter of pride.
3. A politician couldn’t say the name of a university because it broke his wuzu
4. A Pakistani TV show was banned for talking about a problem that our society is plagued by.
5. Fawad Khan was more controversial than any Pakistani actress working in India.
6. Adult politicians tried to ban a children’s cartoon
7. Pakistan had its very own cricket league.
8. Altaf Bhai gave out free pappis to young girls (and boys?)
9. The whole world was captivated by a Pakistani angel
Who then left Pakistan after receiving threats unfortunately.
10. Pakistani team’s push ups became a cause of national concern
11. A social media star was murdered
12. Pakistani startup StocksFM became the first social investment company to launch a robo-advisor in Asia.
Yeh ab sab finance walay logon kay liyeh hai.
13. Shahbaz Taseer returned (hopefully this is one thing that will happen for the only time in 2016, not just the first time)
14. The Pakistani women’s cricket team showed the boys in green how to do it.
15. Tinder became really popular in Pakistan
16. Adele acknowledged Lahore’s blast victims
17. Pakistan’s online stores became “adult”.
18. A wedding became THE TOPIC for everyone and anyone to ever talk about.
19. Mufti Muneeb of Ruet-e-Hilal lost it on national television
20. Chappals were discovered to have magic powers
21. Qaim Ali Shah retired…for the first time in Pakistan’s history
21. Haider Ali was the ONLY Pakistani to win a medal at Rio Olympics
22. Girls in Pakistan got on bikes and owned the streets
23. The first digital film of Pakistan was released
Please ja ker dekho aur MangoBaaz kay YouTube channel per susbscribe bhee ker do 🙂
24. PIA sacrificed a goat as a good luck charm before take off
25. The powerhouse, Ahmed ‘Wolverine’ Mujtaba, won at Asia’s biggest MMA platform
On October the 7th, Mujtaba signed up for a match against the undefeated champion, Benedict Ang, in the One Championship, and won the match, ending Ang’s winning streak!
26. Pakistan (and the whole world) discovered a pyaara chai wala
Became a model and is now all set to feature in his first film! (lol Modi)
27. Diplo came to Pakistan and rocked the capital city
Three-time grammy winner, Diplo, performed in the Capital city, raking in crowds from the entire country. Waving a Pakistani flag mid-performance, Diplo won the hearts of many.
28. A Pakistani girl Aspoke about her sexual encounters and the country had a meltdown.
29. Lahore’s smog became unbearable enough that people actually discussed how to tackle it.
30. Netflix came to Pakistan and taught us how to Netflix and chill the halal way
31. A Pakistani girl’s solo honeymoon went viral
32. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy became the only Pakistani to win 2 Oscars
33. Burkas were banned and women were forced to wear bikinis
34. Pakistani student sang to his teacher and went CRAZY viral
35. Shit went down in the National Assembly when a politician called Shireen Mazari a tractor
36. Themed cafes became a huge trend in Pakistan
F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter. We can’t wait for more.
37. Sheikh Rasheed ne upna waada poora kiya
38. Human rights were under threat because of a certain cyber crime bill
39. Mahira Khan became the first Pakistani actress to be cast opposite THE KING of Bollywood
Aur hum tau hain hi MahiraBaaz.
40. Two men became rather aggresive over the recipe for an omelette
41. The Mannequin Challenge took over the world
42. A 6th grader accused the President of Pakistan for stealing his speech
43. Pakistani men started tweeting pictures of their nangi taangein
44. YouTube came back to Pakistan after FOUR WHOLE YEARS
45. Catfights over lawn became really intense
46. The Supreme Court didn’t think schizophrenia was a real disorder
47. A female journalist was slapped by a security guard on air
48. Trump spoke to Nawaz Sharif and everyone was surprised
49. Mukhtaraan Mai walked the ramp
In order to give courage to other rape survivors, and that she did! She was lauded with praise for coming out in public and standing against the patriarchal social constructs we have built around ourselves.
50. Hamza Ali Abbasi and Muniba Mazari got together for a duet
#Hamzari anyone?
51. Oh, and MangoBaaz became the first digital media company in Pakistan to raise funding
#shamelesspromotion
Here’s hoping 2017 is good to us, and if you have had any firsts this year, let us know in the comments below!